Betsided

Michigan vs. Penn State Prediction and Odds (Wolverines the Right Side on Road)

By Reed Wallach

Feb 5, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard talks with Caleb Houstan (22)
Feb 5, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard talks with Caleb Houstan (22) / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

Michigan's climb back to the NCAA Tournament includes taking care of business against lowly conference foes, like Penn State on Tuesday night.

The Wolverines margin for error is getting smaller and smaller after the team lost a competitive game at Purdue over the weekend, and now are just small favorites on the road against PSU, who is 4-7 in Big Ten play.

Here are the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook.

Michigan vs. Penn State Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

  • Michigan: -2 (-110)
  • Penn State: +2 (-110)

Moneyline:

  • Michigan: -135
  • Penn State: +112

Total: 129.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Michigan vs. Penn State Prediction and Pick

While this season hasn't been what was expected from Juwan Howard's club, this line is too short for my liking and I'll be backing the short road favorite.

I make Michigan closer to 3-point favorites in this matchup as the team can lean on their star big man Hunter Dickinson to carry them home. The sophomore has scored 25 or more in three straight games and will have a massive size advantage on Penn State big John Harrar.

While the Wolverines have concerns on the defensive side of the ball, Penn State's inability to get quality looks will sink them. The team is over reliant on mid-range jump shots, which they hit at a decent rate (75th in the country, per Haslemetrics), but I'm going to side with the Wolverines offense to do enough to avoid a catastrophic loss that will surely hurt their Tournament standing. Dickinson anchors a unit that is 10th in near proximity field goal percentage and top 25 in second chance conversion.

I see more avenues to scoring for the Michigan offense that is third in offensive efficiency in Big Ten play. This line has sunk too far and I'll buy the dip on a Wolverines team that is actually playing better than their record indicates.

PICK: Michigan -2 (-110)

All of Reed's college basketball plays can be tracked here, his best bets column for college basketball is 52-43-3 for +7.3 units.

Home/College Basketball Predictions and Picks